


Sing for Me and Dance for You

by GamerAlexis



Series: Soul Music [1]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, M/M, Soul Bond, Soulmates, background shiro/allura - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-08
Updated: 2017-05-08
Packaged: 2018-10-29 12:21:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,273
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10853892
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GamerAlexis/pseuds/GamerAlexis
Summary: Keith grew up waiting for a song, his song, to come into his mind.  The song that would help him find his soul mate.  The problem is that Keith couldn't feel a song, couldn't hear the gentle notes and melody.  Instead Keith felt the indescribable urge to dance.But there was a song he heard, a song that spoke to his soul, his dancing soul.  A song that belonged to Lance.





	Sing for Me and Dance for You

**Author's Note:**

> Eeeh?
> 
> I was watching Happy Feet and, well, here we are. I'm sorry.

Keith first heard it at the Garrison.  A soft, lilting melody that floated down the hallway and into his classroom.  It was a Spanish song and even though Keith couldn't understand the words, something about it overcame his entire soul.  His foot started tapping along the beat, toe - heel, toe - toe - heel.  His fingers drummed against his desk and Keith felt the itch underneath his skin to start moving, to push and pull and  _dance_.

The song stopped abruptly and Keith looked up at the door.  It was the new student, some kid from Cuba with big dreams and a bigger ego.

"Sorry, I'm late," he grinned.  "Someone forgot to give me a map."

"Lance McClain, take a seat."

He swaggered into the classroom and Keith almost snapped his pencil in half when Lance sat down next to him.  He was humming underneath of his breath and something in Keith reacted.  His heart lurched and his feet started tapping again.  The humming wasn't the same melody that Keith had heard before, but it was the same soft notes that had Keith itching out of his skin.  He wanted to grab his books, hide in his room, and dance.

Keith had never felt this way when Shiro first started to sing and his voice was damn good and his song-!  Keith hadn't heard that many soul songs, but he knew that Shiro's was particularly melancholy.  It was filled with long notes, drawn out with sadness and desire and loneliness.  He'd heard that song more times than he could count but it never affected him the way Lance's mindless humming did.

"Dude, what's with the tapping?"

Keith's foot froze, his heel halfway up.  He glanced over at Lance who was staring at him with something like disdain.

"Excuse me?"

"You're tapping your feet and it's kind of distracting, dude," Lance rolled his eyes.

Keith's heel dropped.

"I mean, it's annoying enough to hear everyone singing their soul songs," Lance went on.  "Do you gotta do this tapping thing?"

Keith's pencil snapped in his hand and he slammed it down on his desk.

"I'm sorry that my tapping is such an inconvenience to you!" Keith growled.  "Too bad I don't have a song, huh, Lance?  Then I could at least bother you the same way everyone else does!"

Lance hummed a little melody, three small notes but the hair on Keith's arms stood up and his foot did a skip on the floor.  Lance looked pointedly down at Keith's feet.  Keith groaned and grabbed his bag and left, Lance's song trailing after him.

* * *

Everyone was born with a soulmate, connected to each other by song.  Keith grew up anxious for his song, the song that would lead him to his soulmate.  But the song never came.  When he joined up with the Garrison, he heard Shiro discover his song, listened to Matt Holt hum his own melody, but still no song came for Keith.

Instead Keith started dancing.  He hid in empty classrooms, listening to soul songs in the hallway and letting the melodies drift over him.  The songs were beautiful but none of them spoke to Keith's soul.  They were great practice though, and soon enough Keith was spending every spare moment he had dancing.

After a while, Keith was pretty much set that he was never going to find a soul song.  A song never came to him, no melody or words or music.  Instead, Keith felt the itch in his skin and a tingle in his feet and he danced.  When he was angry, he snapped his hips from side to side, hair flipping back and forth and legs kicked out.  When he was sad, Keith would spin in endless circles, his feet dragging across the floor and arms throw out dramatically.

But his favorite was the dancing he did when he was happy.  Quick taps of his feet, sharp turns and kicks.  This was the dancing that Keith lived for - a grin on his face and his hands thrown up.  His hips would sway and his head would bob and Keith never felt more alive.

* * *

Getting kicked out was expected.  No one dances for a soulmate, not when they're supposed to sing.  And, well, Keith got into one too many fights over not having a song and  _bam_ kicked out.  Living in the desert was nice though, Keith realized quickly.  There was no one singing, no one making fun of his lack of a song, it was just Keith alone with his dancing.

But some times late at night, a Spanish lullaby would float into his dreams and Keith would find himself dancing to a phantom memory of Lance's soul song.  A slow, lilting melody that slowly moved Keith's limbs across the floor.  His hand dragged down his face, down his torso and wrapped around his hips.  He would sway, sultry and slow and imagine the tune wrapping around his body.

Which would morph into Lance, his brown hands twisting up Keith's ribs and tangling into his hair.  If Keith kept his eyes closed, he could almost pretend Lance was standing there with him in this tiny shack, humming his soul song into Keith's ear, the sound of it resonating with his entire body.

But like all good things, it wasn't meant to be.  Keith would open his eyes, gasping for breath and alone in the desert.

Lance had a beautiful song and by now, he'd surely found his soulmate.  Lance was known for singing his soul song as loud and as frequently as he could, waiting for his soulmate to sing along with him and, after their first meeting, mercilessly mocking Keith.  Lance adored the idea of soulmates and soul songs and didn't hesitate to grill Keith about having no song.

Yet every time Lance had opened his mouth with a song, Keith felt it in his soul.  It felt like Lance's voice controlled his limbs, forced him to move and dance to the melody.

And maybe that meant something.

Keith sat down on his back porch and watched the sunset over the desert.  He wondered if Lance was watching it and singing to himself.  He wondered if Lance was thinking of him, of his annoyed tapping and dancing.  Keith hoped he was.

* * *

The instant Keith heard Allura singing, he knew what song he was hearing.  He spun around to Shiro, who was staring with wide eyes as Allura sang on the bridge.  Her song was soft and full of longing, tender enough to make Keith's heart ache.  Keith gestured wildly at Shiro and he cleared his throat and started singing back.

Keith had never seen two soul songs come together but he'd heard that it was a sight to behold.  Shiro's low baritone voice harmonized with Allura's resonating alto voice.  Their eyes met and the longing, aching, tender song rose in pitch and intensity until it broke.  There was silence in the air.

"I have waited so long for you," Allura said.  "Ten thousand years, I've sung that song without a partner!"

"I'm here now," Shiro opened his arms and Allura ran into him.

Lance whimpered from next to Keith.  "That's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen!  I can't wait until I find my soulmate!"

"Yeah," Keith muttered to himself as he slipped away.

He walked through the Castle; it was quiet and still and his footsteps echoed through the hallways.  He could faintly hear the rest of the team singing their soul songs.  Hunk's song was low with a quick beat and his lyrics were less melodic and more beat boxing.  Keith was moving before he could think, his body swinging to each beat of Hunk's voice.  Keith bent over, his hands on the floor and he dropped to his knees.

Break-dancing wasn't his favorite dance, but something about the beat to Hunk's soul song pushed him to sprawl on the floor, kicking his feet out and dancing on his hands.  It didn't touch his soul, didn't twist in his bones like Lance's song did, but it was a good beat, a good song, and Keith let himself dance.

A light song floated over Hunk's singing and Keith could make out Pidge's voice, a surprisingly sweet soprano that was full of sharp notes and quick scales.  Keith rolled from where he was on his hands and feet and rose to his toes, hands spread out behind him.  Keith rolled forward into a somersault as Pidge's song tumbled down.  Her voice stopped and Keith was on his knees, his hands reached out in longing.

Then came a soft, Spanish lullaby.  Keith's soul expanded and his fingers curled into fists.  The gentle lyrics washed over Keith, sending shivers down his spine and goosebumps across his arms.  Slowly, Keith rose to his feet, the beat of the song matching the beat of his heart.  He swept his foot out in a large arc, raising his arms up to the ceiling.  Lance's voice broke in pitch and Keith dropped.

His knees snapped with pain as he fell onto the ground.  The palms of his hands slapped on the ground and he couldn't catch his breath.

Keith had wondered if he had a soulmate because without a song how could he find them?  But hearing Shiro and Allura singing together, hearing their soul songs meld and become one, made Keith remember how he didn't have a song.  He dreamed, oh how Keith dreamed, of Lance.  Of Lance's song, his smile, his hair, the way he laughed and how his song echoed in Keith's body.

But Lance had a song, a soulmate, and he wouldn't settle with Keith, a dancer with no song.  It wasn't unheard of for some to settle without their soulmate, the universe was growing and soulmates were hard to find, but Keith knew that Lance was a romantic and wouldn't settle for anything less than his own soulmate.

* * *

"You don't have a song, do you?" Pidge asked.

Keith looked up from his bowl of goo.  Pidge was sitting at the edge of the counter.  Her glasses flashed menacingly in the light.

"Everyone sings their soul songs here," Pidge went on.  "I hear everyone singing them but I never hear yours.  It's okay, you know, not having a song.  Lots of people don't have one."

"I feel a song though," Keith said.  "I mean, I feel what I think your songs must feel like, but instead of singing I... well, I dance."

Pidge's eyes widened and she leaned forward.  "Dance?  Keith Kogane, dance?"

Keith flushed.  "Yeah.  I've danced to all of your soul songs."

"Oh?  Do you like them?"

"Well, yeah.  You all sing really good."

Pidge jumped off the counter and slammed her hands on either side of Keith's bowl of food goo.  Her honey eyes bored deep into Keith's own, searching and probing.

"There's a song you like more though, isn't there?" Pidge accused.

"Uh...." Keith muttered.  "Lance?"

Pidge snapped up straight with a cocky grin on her face.  "I knew it!  Dude, his song sounds so _weird_!"

"Wh- what do you mean?" Keith asked.

"I've been listening and studying soul songs forever," Pidge yanked her tablet off the counter and started swiping through it.  "I mean, it's interesting science, of course, but now that we've proven that there are aliens who are soulmates with humans the research is just insurmountable!  I suppose it makes sense, because Shiro's soul song had always been a bit different too, some of the harmonies were otherworldly, which makes sense because he's Allura's soulmate!"

"Pidge, focus.  Lance's song."

"Oh, right!  I've been recording our soul songs, and Lance's song is some kind of lullaby, soft with many major movements and modulations.  It's simple and catchy but it's missing something, just like all soul songs, it's missing the other half.  But unlike other soul songs, which are lacking a harmony, Lance's song is lacking... well, movement, I suppose.  Movement, rhythm, a beat, it's hard to say, but the melody is complete even if the soul song is not."

Keith felt something in his stomach drop out.

"And if you dance the way that we sing, then there's a high possibility that - "

"No!" Keith stopped Pidge, standing up and sending his chair flying.  "You're wrong, Pidge.  I don't have a soul song and I don't have a soulmate.  Don't tie me down to Lance, not when he has such a good future in front of him, a soul song and a soulmate just waiting for him.  I won't hold him back from that."

"But what if - "

"It's impossible."

Pidge jabbed at her tablet and singing filtered out of the speaker.  It was Lance's soul song, his soft and sweet lullaby that tugged at Keith's soul.  immediately, his body wanted to move.  His hips started to sway and his hands swirled in place.  Pidge grinned and stopped the recording.  Keith's body went limp and he frowned - traitorous hips.

"You know what this means, Keith," Pidge said.  "Your dance is what Lance's song is missing."

* * *

The observation deck was beautiful.  It was secluded with wide open windows that allowed Keith to stare into the depths of space.  He picked up the remote for the Altean sound system and pressed a button.  Music floated through the room, something operatic from Coran's younger days.  Keith took a breath and tucked the remote into his pocket.

Then he danced.

Keith lost himself to the dance, to the movement of his body, the stretch and burn of his joints.  He didn't think about Voltron, didn't think about soulmates or soul songs.  Never allowed Lance to cross his mind.  He kept himself focused on each step, each turn, each beat of the music.

Shiro and Allura had never stopped singing whenever there was a quiet moment on the castle.  It had been surreal, at first, to hear the missing half of Shiro's song - a song that Keith had heard for so many years at the Garrison.  But now it felt normal to hear their song floating through the castle.  Hunk sang his song when he felt particularly emotional and sang long and hard the entire flight to the Balmera but, since finding Shay, had kept his soul song to himself.  Pidge hummed her soul song underneath her breath when she was distracted with work, soft trills up and down a major scale in quick succession.

The song rose to a crescendo and Keith leaped into the air with the crash of a cymbal.

And Lance - Lance never stopped his singing.  His soul song echoed with Keith's dance and every time he sang, Pidge eyed up Keith and stared pointedly at his tapping toes.

But there was no Lance here, no song to distract him and his dance.  It was just Keith dancing beneath the stars.

The music stopped and Keith tumbled to the ground.  The beat left his veins and the melody left him shaking.  Keith couldn't quite catch his breath as he lifted himself back to his feet.  He shook himself, let the rest of the music fall from his head.  Keith took a deep, settling breath and shook his arms and legs loose.  He pulled out the remote and pressed the button again but no music started.  He hit the button again but still, no music.

"How about a different song?"

Keith froze and the remote dropped from his hand.  It clattered on the floor, echoing through the observation deck and Keith was certain the stars shook.  He turned around slowly, spinning on his heel, and saw Lance lounging by the sound system, the power cord held limply in his hand.  He looked casual and cocky and it made Keith's breath catch in his lungs.

Before Keith could protest, Lance opened his mouth and started to sing.

He immediately reacted, swaying to the melody of Lance's lullaby.  Keith shut his eyes and let his body move, ignoring the fact that he was dancing in front of Lance, dancing to his soul song.

Keith's hands dragged up from his thighs, across his hips and up his sides.  His fingers ran through his hair and then he dropped them down his face.  Keith's hips swayed from side to side and he let his hands twist up into the air.  He spun slowly in place, his toes and heels tapping to the beat, sharp noises that punctuated Lance's soul song.

Hot hands rested against Keith's hips and he jumped.  Lance's breath ghosted over Keith's ear and he pressed himself close, his chest pressed up against Keith's back.  Their hips swayed slowly together, luxuriously slow and sensual.

Still Lance kept singing, his voice hitching slightly as Keith reached around, wrapping his hand around Lance's neck, keeping him close.  Each note spoke to Keith's soul, plucking on his heart strings and moving his body.

"Why don't you sing?" Lance whispered.

"I've never sung," Keith replied.  "I've only ever danced."

Lance slowly spun Keith around so they were face to face.  His thumbs circled over Keith's hips, their foreheads pressed together.  An electric feeling shot through Keith as Lance dipped his fingers up underneath of Keith's shirt.  His fingers were soft and dry and pulled Keith closer so their bodies were lined up from thighs to hips.

"It's beautiful," Lance's breath fanned over Keith's lips.

"I've never sung," Keith said again.  "Never had my own soul song but... I've felt one... I connected with one."

Keith forced himself to look up at Lance.  Lance had the bluest of blue eyes, deep as the ocean and shining with stars.  Keith had never seen them this close before, always keeping himself distant from Lance, keeping himself away from temptation.  But now he was here, staring deep into Lance's eyes and preparing to confess

"I feel your song, Lance," Keith said.  "I feel it in my bones, in my soul.  Every time you sing, every little melody, makes me want to dance.  I feel like it's a part of me, of my soul.  And Pidge was telling me about your song, that it's different and, well, she said that we might be soulmates.  Your song and my dance."

Lance's eyes went wide and Keith grappled for something else to say, something to break the tender, intimate silence between them.  But he didn't have to say anything because Lance was kissing him.

Keith felt his entire body sing with electricity.  His bones were molten, his skin on fire, his very  _soul_ was glowing and Lance kept kissing him.  Lance's fingers were digging into Keith's spine and his own were pulling at Lance's hair, angling their mouths to deepen the kiss.  Keith felt right, felt whole.  For the first time in his entire life, Keith didn't feel like an outcast, a poor orphan without a soul song or soulmate, because here he was with Lance.

Lance, who made Keith's soul sing even though he never heard a song.  Lance who let Keith dance, who danced with Keith.  Lance and his little soul song, a soft lullaby that touched Keith's own soul, that moved his feet and carried his body into dance.

Slowly, Lance pulled away and Keith leaned forward, chasing after those sweet, soft lips.  Keith opened his eyes.  Lance looked wrecked, mouth red and slick and eyes hooded with desire.

"I've always wondered why songs didn't make sense," Lance muttered.  "I've chased soul songs hoping to find one but none of the songs felt, right.  None of them felt right, or even good.  Not even Hunk who's like my brother.  But watching you... I think I understand now."

"Me too," Keith grinned and he pulled Lance down for another kiss. 


End file.
